Hiring by manufacturing companies like Honda, Hyundai, TVS rises by up to 40%

Top business school campuses are seeing a revival in hiring by manufacturing companies amid confidence that prospects are set to improve in 2016.Rica Bhattcharyya&Sreeradha D Basu | ET Bureau | January 08, 2016, 08:54 IST

Revival in sectors such as transportation, automobile, infrastructure has led to this revivalMUMBAI: Top business school campuses are seeing a revival in hiring by manufacturing companies amid confidence that prospects are set to improve in 2016. Leading business schools including IIM-Calcutta, IIM-Trichy, MDI-Gurgaon, IMI-Delhi, IMT-Ghaziabad and BIM-Trichy have seen manufacturing companies hiring in large numbers after a lull of several years.

Recruitment has risen by as much as 40%, both in case of institutes that have completed final placements as well as others that are seeing a jump in the number of pre-placement offers (PPOs) besides laterals.

Among companies that were first timers at campuses this year or are hiring after a gap of four-five years were the Hinduja Group, Honda Motor Co. of Japan, Hyundai Motor India, TVS Motor, the Murugappa Group, Sundaram Clayton, 3M, Bajaj Electricals, Saint Gobain and Welspun, according to placement cells.

They joined regulars such as Tata Motors, Reliance, Tata Steel and Asian Paints. “At MDI-Gurgaon, the number of manufacturing firms offering management positions during laterals has increased 10% from last year,” said Kanwal Kapil, placements, chairperson. “PPOs offered by manufacturing firms have seen a 40% rise from last year’s offers. There is a huge increase in the interest level of manufacturing firms seeking out MDIGurgaon in order to participate in final placement process.”Global mining and manufacturing conglomerate 3M has been taking students for the summer from BIM-Trichy in the past three years but would balk at final placements because the business outlook didn’t permit hiring.

But this year, 3M has hired two candidates at a salary of 15 lakh each. “There are new companies coming and recruiting in large numbers. We have seen 40% increase in hiring by manufacturing companies.

Revival in sectors such as transportation, automobile, infrastructure has led to this revival,” said Abhishek Kumar, assistant professor at BIM-Trichy. 3M was among first timers at the campus this year, while Vedanta, TVS Motor and Ultramine Chemicals hired after a gap of about 5 years.

“The Centre is working hard on the policy front including GST, labour reforms, etc., besides trying to improve infrastructure and creating smart cities,” said Maclean Raphael, executive director, human resources, 3M India Ltd. “There is a growing optimism... We continue to build our leadership pipeline from campuses. We are visiting campuses such as IIFT, BIM-Trichy, TAPMI for the first time this year and IIM-Kozhikode after a gap of a few years.” 3M’s campus hiring is up 10-15% this year from last year.